Lead generation 'can be like dating'

Consumers do not like to give away too much information when they are first approached by marketers, according to an industry insider.
Marketers should think of lead generation as similar to dating when they ask for information about customers, an industry insider has suggested.
Chief marketing officer of Market2Lead Kevin Joyce claimed that web forms should only ask for simple things such as an email address initially.
He pointed out that as the relationship with the consumer progresses then deeper questions can be asked.
Mr Joyce highlighted a person's social networking address as the sort of information that marketers should not ask for at first.
"You don't ask for a complete medical history on a first date. Likewise, with a first web form, you should only ask for some basic information," he said.
A study by Pontiflux and Harris Interactive revealed that 96 per cent of adults who filled in a web form were happy to provide their email address.
Last week, a spokesperson for True suggested that marketers should encourage customers to talk about products, because this can often be an effective form of lead generation.

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Customers 'can be a source of additional lead generation'

An expert has informed businesses that they can achieve new lead generation by encouraging customers to get involved.
Having people talking about a brand can be the best kind of lead generation, an industry expert has suggested.
Time Jones, a spokesperson for True, questioned why brands do not ally themselves with customers more, as such relationships can allow a company to improve its service and see more people talking about a brand.
He suggested that businesses involve customers in product development and reward them for their input, but it is important not to offer excessive incentives.
"If it starts looking like out and out bribery, your recommendations lose all credibility," explained Mr Jones.
In his view, it is positive to embrace bad feedback and allow customers to leave reviews online, because he claimed it will improve the credibility of a brand if a buyer's views are listened to.
This week, online advertising website Marketing Sherpa suggested that marketers share previously recorded interviews and press publications with consumers as potential lead generation tools.

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'Recycling' your way to lead generation

A marketing website has informed advertisers that it can recycle content from the media or trade publications to promote a brand.
Lead generation does not always have to involve expensive campaigns or for new content to be created, according to an online marketing website.
Marketing Sherpa has recommended that advertisers look at related content that may interest consumers or build up their image of a brand.
An example of content that could be shared with a customer via email would be a video or article with an executive from the company which had previously appeared in the press.
The website said: "Sharing an article you believe prospects would find interesting gives them a break from repeated calls to register for content or provide contact information."
Another source of positive content that Marketing Sherpa highlighted would be by-lined articles that appear in trade magazines.
By using these kinds of promotional techniques, the costs are limited and the number of conversions it takes to cover expenditure would be very low.
Last week, the website reported that the wording of a headline can have a significant effect on lead generation.

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Headline wording 'influences lead generation success'

Companies should test which styles of headline produce the most effective lead generation, says an expert.
Effective lead generation can be driven by the way a headline is worded, an industry expert has suggested.
Philipp Postrehovsky, marketing manager at mogo, told Marketing Sherpa that adding certain words to headlines made a significant difference to the clickthrough rate achieved.
For instance, he found that using the word "new" lifted clickthrough rates by 30 per cent, while adding the company name increased it by 123 per cent.
Mr Postrehovsky also suggested opening up the range of keywords used on a website, although he stressed the importance of analysing results so that it is clear which phrases are driving traffic.
"The strategy of looking at a wider [keyword group] definitely worked. Even though the keywords are higher up the funnel and not a specific product keyword, they worked really well," he told the website.
To test the success of headlines, mogo initially used Google's Quality Score program, which determines how high an advert will be ranked, predicts the actual cost-per-click and decides how relevant keywords are.

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'Size does not matter' in banner ad lead generation

A new report has suggested that advertisers using rich media in promotional campaigns should not worry about how large the display is.
Marketers intending to use rich media adverts for lead generation should not focus their energy on the size of the banner, according to new research.
A report by Eyeblaster, which looked at more than 250,000 adverts across the world, showed that for standard format banners bigger is better, but that it is not the case with rich media.
Gal Trifon, chief executive officer and co-founder of the company, claimed that this survey supports previous research on the topic, which suggests that the level of engagement with consumers is dictated by other factors.
He explained: "Eyeblaster data suggests that physical size of a banner has less to do with performance than creative execution and rich media."
The report suggested that the most successful form of rich media adverts are half leaderboards, with rectangle adverts coming second.
Media Post defines rich media as a display that uses dynamic motion such as scrolling text, sounds or video.

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Information Marketing

An interesting new one to many marketing concept ! Very American and sometimes over pushy but with the right refinement a very effective marketing tool !